Service Delivery Director

Service Delivery Director - Operations

We are seeking an experienced Service Delivery Director to take overall accountability for the operational performance, governance, and continuous improvement of a large-scale operational service.

This is a senior leadership role with responsibility for managing and developing 4-5 operational managers across back-office operations, fraud reduction, base data management, sales and revenue, and IT operations. The role will ensure these functions operate as an integrated service, with clear ownership, robust controls, and consistent performance against contractual obligations and service level agreements.

The Service Delivery Director will act as the senior operational interface with the client and key stakeholders, providing strategic direction, executive-level reporting, and visible leadership across operational delivery, service reliability, operational assurance, and transformation.

Key Duties Include:

• Provide director-level leadership and accountability for the end-to-end operational delivery of a major public transport operational service.
• Manage, coach, and develop 4-5 operational managers responsible for:
• Back-office operations and system support
• Fraud reduction and operational loss prevention activity
• Base data management, including SQL-led data control, configuration, and reporting activity
• Sales and revenue operations, including sales channels, transaction processing, reconciliation, and operational assurance
• IT operations, service tooling, infrastructure support, and operational platforms
• Set the operational strategy, governance model, processes, controls, and performance framework across all service delivery functions.
• Ensure all operational services are delivered in accordance with contractual obligations, agreed service levels, governance requirements, and performance indicators.
• Lead cross-functional coordination across operational managers to maintain a stable, reliable, efficient, and scalable service.
• Monitor service performance, operational metrics, service assurance indicators, incident trends, and service risks, ensuring clear actions are taken to improve outcomes.
• Provide senior leadership for incident management, operational issue resolution, service recovery, and escalation management where required.
• Oversee operational readiness for new system capabilities, service changes, product updates, integrations, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Ensure the integrity and accuracy of operational processes, including sales channel performance, transaction processing, settlement, reconciliation, and reporting processes.
• Oversee fraud prevention, detection, investigation support, and reduction mechanisms to minimise operational loss, customer impact, and service risk.
• Ensure base data processes are controlled, accurate, auditable, and aligned with wider operational and reporting requirements.
• Provide senior oversight of back-office systems, IT operations, service tools, and supporting infrastructure to ensure availability, resilience, and effective support.
• Act as the senior operational point of contact with the client and key stakeholders, leading service performance discussions, governance forums, and operational improvement reviews.
• Provide clear operational reporting, insights, risk commentary, and recommendations to senior management, executive stakeholders, and client governance forums.
• Establish clear accountability, responsibilities, objectives, and performance expectations for operational managers and their teams.
• Promote a culture of collaboration, ownership, service excellence, customer focus, and continuous improvement across all operational functions.
• Support workforce planning, capability building, succession planning, and leadership development across the operational management team.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Technology, Business, Operations Management, or a related discipline; equivalent senior operational experience will also be considered.
• Minimum 15 years' experience in service delivery, operations management, back-office technology, IT operations, managed services, transport technology, or a related operational environment.
• Proven experience operating at senior manager, head-of, or director level, with accountability for complex, SLA-driven operational services.
• Demonstrable experience managing managers and leading multidisciplinary operational teams across several functional areas.
• Strong understanding of back-office operations, operational controls, fraud reduction, sales and revenue processes, data management, and IT service operations.
• Experience with data-led operational environments, including base data controls, reporting, SQL-driven processes, or configuration management.
• Proven track record of managing services within large-scale programmes, managed service environments, or complex multi-stakeholder delivery models.
• Strong understanding of IT service management, operational governance, incident management, service performance reporting, and continuous improvement processes.
• Experience managing contractual obligations, service level agreements, operational KPIs, risk controls, and senior stakeholder reporting.
• Excellent client-facing, stakeholder management, communication, leadership, and decision-making capabilities.
• Ability to provide strategic direction while maintaining strong operational control and attention to delivery detail.

Leadership Profile:

• Commercially aware, operationally disciplined, and confident leading through managers.
• Able to translate strategic objectives into practical operational plans, governance routines, and measurable service outcomes.
• Comfortable working in complex public transport, technology, or operationally complex environments where service reliability, data accuracy, and governance are critical.